Semi-weekly south Kentuckian. [volume] (Hopkinsville, Ky.) 1883-1889, 1887-07-19
THE VERY LATEST FAD.

A Professor of Rope-Tying Relates thu
Secrets OF Ills Calling.
Society's latest fashionable fad is
rope-tying. Since the days when Fos-
ter, Slade, the Davenports and the
Eddy BROTHERS performed their mar
yelous rope-tying tricks the secrets Of
spices, knots and htches has never
been more eargerly studied and tho
art of rope-tying has never been more
faithfully practiced than now. Young
girls who have just been initiated into
the mysteries of tennis, boys about
to start out upon their first fish.
ing tour. young Corinthian tars, anna.
teur yachtsmen of both sexes all have
the fever, and it is not improbable that
the craze will extend to those in many
of the graver walks of life. Those de-
voted to the art-if art it can be called
insist that life can not be a success
unless one be versed in rope tying.
Rope tyin'," said a professor of the
art, 'is the most usefulest of all the
'complishments. w seen men fore
now, as'ud give the world ter know
some things about ropes. A boy may
want ter lengthen his fishin' line eli
make swing; he may want ter make
kittle out o. a jug Or pickle jar
when he goes picknickin'; er he may
want ter anchor his boat, fasten his
kite string err make a sinker for his
crab line, an less he understands rope
tyin' he'll lose his fish err kite, drop his
picket jar err find his boat carried away
by the lido. The fust thing he must
do is ter learn ter tie a squar' knot We
sailors calls it a reef-knot It's the one
used by surgeons in tyin' up blood yes
sells, cause 'twont slip. Now, folks all
on 'em think squar' knot is the sim
plest thing in tho world ter tie; but
faint Most on 'em make granny,
which most allus slips, and if it don'tit
caws the rope, as the strain is at right
angles. A squar' knot is made by takin'
two ropes and crossin' the ends, ther
left hand rope under Their right.
Carry the right-hand one through the
loop once, then tie again, only carry
the right-hand end under the left and
draw tight. II y carry the left hand
under the right one the second time
y'll have what we calls granny knot
an granny haint ter be depended on
nohow. The more y pull on ter reef
knot the tighter it gets. Sometimes y
want err longer line, but " haint got
two ropes of size Then's when a
becket-hilched comes in. Y make
this by bendin' the end of the biggest
rope so it looks like the letter U, then
y put the end o. the little rope or
Irvine up from the bottom behind the
bend between the two sides, carry it
round behind the two sides, then
cross the front and under the part
that comes up from below and there
v are. When tn keleg-line of yel
boat is too short an y haint nothin'
but a piece o. hemp Irvine or fishin'
line ter bend onto it nothin'
answers like the beckett hitch. Then
there's the bowline, which lets y have
loop onto the end of rope as II not
draw up. It's easy ter make and is
good when y want to tie yer horse or
dog with rope and don't want ter
choke 'em. Y make 1t by turning a
rope on itself near the end and maxim
blight Hold tn turn or blight with
the left hand, pass the end of the rope
through the blight from bottom up'a ards,
then around the main rope and down
through tho blight again. Draw it
tight an y'll get loop as III never
slip. Store-keepers make bowline
when they does up big bundles, cause
by pullin' the string through the loop
they gets a slip-knot on which they can
depend. A knot that puzzles most
people, howsomever, is the shcepshank.
It's useful in gatherin' up tho slack of
rope and making it shorter. 1t is
made by doublin' rope on itself twice
and passln' a loop over each end. -
NJ Y Mail and Express.